NBA Injury News
Detroit Pistons (Front End of B2B)
Sekou Doumbouya – Probable
Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose – OUT
Jahlil Okafor – Q
With Griffin and Rose resting, the Pistons will be a great source of salary relief today for DFS. Killian Hayes and Delon Wright will benefit from the absence of Rose. Sekou Doumbouya is near minimum price and will take on a larger role with Blake Griffin sitting. Josh Jackson and Jerami Grant will be the most likely candidates to take on some of the usage left behind by Griffin’s absence. Jahlil Okafor is an injury to monitor. Although we expect him to play, Mason Plumlee’s minutes would be extremely secure into the mid-30s if Okafor were to miss.
Atlanta Hawks
Clint Capela – Probable
Danilo Gallinari – Q
Onyeka Okongwu – OUT
With Clint Capela returning to the rotation, this makes the Hawks’ minutes extremely volatile. Trae Young is the one guy we don’t have to worry about. John Collins has been averaging 20 minutes at C, which will likely be cut down significantly. If Gallinari was unable to go, it would allow Cam Reddish and De’Andre Hunter to fill a lot of the 3 & 4 position minutes.
Memphis Grizzlies
De’Anthony Melton, Justise Winslow – OUT
With Melton out, we have seen Grayson Allen locked into a 30-minute role. Ja Morant should be very busy today for the Grizzlies. Kyle Anderson has big minutes upside playing the 4 for the Grizzlies with them playing less Brandon Clarke at the 4.
Brooklyn Nets (Back End of B2B)
Kevin Durant – OUT
Kyrie Irving– Monitor B2B
Spencer Dinwiddie – OUT
Kevin Durant is more likely to sit than Kyrie Irving today on the back end of a B2B. The Nets got some bad news with Dinwiddie expected to miss the remainder of the season with an ACL tear. Caris Levert and Landry Shamet are expected to take on a larger role with Dinwiddie going down. Levert is the more appealing fantasy asset. If Durant sits, Levert becomes a stone-cold lock in every format.
Utah Jazz
Derrick Favors – Probable
Clean report from the Jazz today. They are in a great matchup with the Thunder today and make for some interesting DFS targets. Rudy Gobert should be able to feast on the glass in this matchup.
Oklahoma City Thunder (Front end of B2B)
Ty Jerome – OUT
Thunder starting five and rotation seems to be locked in. We still should monitor them being on a B2B. Early in the season, it is likely they rest their vets like George Hill or Al Horford tomorrow.
Houston Rockets
DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Eric Gordon, Mason Jones, K.J. Martin, Ben McLemore – OUT
Once again, the Rockets will be thin. The Rockets will roll with an eight-man rotation. James Harden and Christian Wood are the main benefactors and two of the best targets on today’s slate. Wood was extremely impressive in the pick-n-roll game in their last contest with the Blazers. Danuel House and P.J Tucker are locked into big minutes, they are unappealing fantasy point per minute players. David Nwaba should start again today, Ja’Sean Tate was able to pick up minutes for his defensive efforts on the Blazers backcourt.
Denver Nuggets (Front End of B2B)
JaMychal Green – OUT
With Green out, Paul Milsap has stepped into the starting rotation. This team runs through Nikola Jokic and Jamall Murray. Jokic and Murray are the only two players who can be trusted. Michael Porter Jr. continues to find himself in the dog house.
Portland Trail Blazers
Carmelo Anthony – OUT
Carmelo being out helps Gary Trent, Robert Covington, and Derrick Jones Jr. The Blazers wont run deeper than an 8 man rotation so this allows Anfernee Simons to enter the rotation.
Los Angeles Lakers (Back End of B2B)
Lebron James – Monitor B2B
Alex Caruso – Q
Anthony Davis – Q
It is very likely that Lebron James sits for the Lakers today. We do expect Anthony Davis to return. Davis will step into an insane role at the perfect time, he should destroy the Blazers. Lebron sitting would give ball-handling duties on the first team to Dennis Schroeder. We could also see Talen-Horton Tucker build off his strong pre-season and enter the rotation for a larger role. We saw Kyle Kuzma explode last night, I think he benefits more when AD sits but Lebron being out helps him for sure.
